Authorities today announced a multiagency bust of a statewide baby-formula theft ring that netted millions of dollars.

Shoplifters known as "boosters" stole a large amount of baby formula on a daily basis from Publix, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie and Target stores across Central Florida.

Carrying retail price tags ranging from $20 to $45, the stolen cans of Similac, Enfamil and other brands were sold for an average of $6 to local "fences" who then sold them to a regional buyer for shipment to out-of-state distributors, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Cooperation between local and state law enforcement with the large retail chains during the two-year investigation dubbed "Operation Got Milk" will produce more joint investigations, Demings said.

Each of the chain's lost $1 million to $2 million each year in formula thefts, investigators said.

"You're going to see more prosecutions," Demings said. "More of what I call white-collar crimes."

The main defendants in the formula thefts were arrested Wednesday.

Alicia Ann Tondreau-Leve, 49, the accused ringleader who lives in Melbourne, was picked up after undercover agents delivered a truckload of 3,300 cans of formula to an undisclosed storage facility in Melbourne.

About $35,000 in cash and 3,000 cans of formula worth about $200,000 were recovered, according to the sheriff's office.

She remains held at the Brevard County Jail in lieu of $65,000 bail on charges of dealing in stolen property, according to jail records.

Guilyanna Guzman, 32, of Orlando, who is accused of making morning and afternoon pickups from shoplifters in Orange County, remains held in lieu of $15,000 bail at the Orange County Jail on racketeering charges.

About 20 shoplifters were arrested during the investigation in Orange County, according to chief investigator Deputy Jeff Newcomb.

The round-up was the third since 2008 that Central Florida authorities conducted a major investigation of formula thefts. There is little stores wanting to be "customer friendly" can do to curtail thefts, according to the sheriff's office.